Shrimp deheader

ABSTRACT

A shrimp deheader consisting of an inclined housing having a top shrimp inlet chute and a bottom deheaded shrimp outlet chute, with a series of coupled driven cylindrical drums journaled therebetween, the drums having spaced bars on their peripheral surfaces. Stationary inclined baffles are located between the drums, and water jet nozzles are mounted above and directed toward the gaps between the lower edges of the baffles and the drums adjacent thereto, the jets from the nozzles aiding the heads of shrimp moving toward the drums to become loosened and detached.

United States Patent Ward 1 1 SHRIMP DEHEADER [72] Inventor: HubertWard, 1412 Choctan Ave.,

Metairie, La. 70005 [22] Filed: May 7, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 141,295

[52] 0.8. CI ..l'7/71 [51] Int. Cl ..A22c 29/00 [58] Field of Search..17/71,73,48,65

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,408,686 11/1968 Stephenson..17/71 2,534,767 12/1950 Greiner et al ..17/'71 X 1,565,365 12/1925Hidzick ..17/65 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 474,991 7/1951Canada..........................l7/51 1 1 3,691,592 [451 Sept. 19, 1972Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Assistant Examiner-J. F. PitrelliAttorney-Berrnan, Davidson and Berman 5 7 ABSTRACT A shrimp deheaderconsisting of an inclined housing having a top shrimp inlet chute and abottom deheaded shrimp outlet chute, with a series of coupled drivencylindrical drums journaled therebetween, the drums having spaced barson their peripheral surfaces. Stationary inclined battles are locatedbetween the drums, and water jet nozzles are mounted above and directedtoward the gaps between the lower edges of the baffles and the drumsadjacent thereto, the jets from the nozzles aiding the heads of shrimpmoving toward the drums to become loosened and detached.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEP 19 um SHEEI 1 U 2 INVENTOR.#055,? T WARD,

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ATTORNEYS PATENTEDSEP 19 I972 SHEU 2 II 2 INVENTOR. Hl/E/P 7- W420,

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I ATTORNEYtS'.

1 SHRIMP DEl-[EADER This invention relates to food processing apparatusand more particularly to a shrimp deheader.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedapparatus for removing the heads of shrimp, the apparatus being simplein construction, efficient in operation, and providing a means forquickly and efficiently removing the heads of shrimp without the use ofhuman labor.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shrimpdeheading apparatus which is relatively compact in size, which isdurable in construction, has a high processing capacity, and issubstantially self-cleanmg.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved shrimpdeheading apparatus which efficiently removes the heads of shrimp,avoiding undesired damage to the edible body portions thereof, theapparatus requiring a minimum amount of human supervision, and beingefi'ective in its action with a wide range of sizes of shrimp.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and claims, and from the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an improved shrimp deheadingapparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the shrimp deheading apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the apparatus of FIGS. I and 2,such view being taken substantially on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical cross-sectional view takensubstantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 1 1 generally designates an improved shrimpdeheading machine constructed in accordance with the present invention.The machine ll comprises an inclined stationary chute or housing 12having an upwardly facing inlet passage portion 13, namely, at its rightend as viewed in FIG. 1, and having a downwardly facing outlet passageportion 14 at its opposite end, namely at its left end as viewed in FIG.I. The discharge chute portion 14 may be located immediately over a beltconveyor, shown in dotted view at [5, for moving the shrimp dischargedfrom the chute 14 toward another chute for further processing.

The inclined housing or main chute I2 is rectangular in cross-sectionand journaled horizontally therein on transverse axes are respectiverotary drum members l6, l7 and 18, the drum members being mounted ontransverse shafts I9, 20 and 21, which are supported by suitablebearings in the opposite vertical walls of the main chute 12. The shafts19, 20 and 21 are provided with sprockets and are coupled together forsimultaneous rotation in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG.4, by sprocket chains shown at 22 and 23 in FIG. 3. The uppermost shaft19 is provided with an additional sprocket 25 which is drivingly coupledby a sprock st chain 26 to the output sprocket 27 of an electric motor28 mounted on a suitable supporting platform 29 rigidly secured beneaththe bottom wall 30 of the inclined main housing or chute member 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inclined bottom wall 30 converges downwardlywith respect to a forward inclined bottom wall portion 31 providedbeneath and at the left side of the lowermost rotary drum member 18, anda depending drain conduit 32 is connected to the junction between thesloping wall elements 30 and 31 adjacent the vertical longitudinal sidewall 33 opposite the location of the drum-driving sprocket chains.

Rigidly secured longitudinally on each of the rotary drums l6, l7 and 18at equal spacings around its peripheral surface are outwardly projectingribs or bars 34. The shrimp inlet chute 13 is provided with a transverseinclined guide plate 35 which extends downwardly and to the left, asviewed in FIG. 4, from the intake opening of the chute 13. Thus, theguide plate 35 in effect comprises the receiving bottom wall of chutel3, and the lower edge 36 of guide plate 35 terminates adjacent the drum16, but short of the path of movement of the ribs 34 thereon. The gapbetween edge 36 and the rotating drum 16 is insufficient to allow shrimpto drop downwardly past the edge 36, but is small enough to allow theribs 34 to move the shrimp sliding down baffle plate 35 along the drum16 as it rotates in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 4.

Transversely mounted between the upper portions of drums l6 and 17 is aninclined guide plate 37 whose upper edge 38 terminates adjacent theperiphery of drum 16, with sufficient clearance to allow free passage ofthe ribs 34. The clearance, however, is small enough to prevent shrimpcarried on the drum from dropping downwardly between edge 38 and drum[6. The transverse baffle plate 37 is inclined downwardly and to theleft as viewed in FIG. 4, terminating adjacent the periphery of the drum17, with sufficient clearance to allow free passage of the longitudinalribs 34 thereon. A gap is defined between the bottom edge 39 of plate 37and the rotating drum 1'7. Mounted in the top portion of the mainhousing 12 adjacent the top wall 40 thereof and above the gap betweenedge 39 and drum 17 is a transversely extending jet tube 41 formed withjet apertures in its bottom spaced along its length and directeddownwardly toward the gap between edge 39 and drum [7. The jet tube 41is connected at its outer end to a supply conduit 42 which is in turnconnected to a supply of water under pressure. The jet stream, shown at43, from the nozzle tube 41 is directed to the gap between the loweredge of plate 37 and drum l7 and is of considerable force, sufficient toloosen the heads of shrimp flung over the inclined baffle plate 37, theforce being sufficient in many instances to detach the heads.

A similar inclined baffle plate 44 is mounted transversely in thehousing 12 between the upper portions of the rotating drums l8 and 17,being oriented in substantially the same manner as the inclined baffleplate 37, the top edge 45 of the plate 44 extending adjacent theperiphery of the drum 17 with sufficient clearance to provide freepassage of the ribs 34 therepast, being arranged substantiallytangentially to drum [7, in the same manner that the baffle plate 37 isarranged substantially tangentially to the drum 16. The lower edge 46 ofplate 44 extends adjacent the periphery of drum 18 but clearance isprovided to allow free movement of the ribs 34 of drum l8 therepast. Agap is defined between edge 46 and drum l8 sufficient to allow water todrop therethrough. Mounted adjacent top wall 40 over said gap is asecond transversely extending jet tube 47 with bottom jet aperturesarranged so that a jet 48 therefrom is directed toward the gap betweenedge 46 and drum 18, similar to the manner in which jet 43 is directedto the gap between edge 39 and drum 17. The nozzle tube 47 is connectedto the common high pressure water supply conduit 42. The action of thejets 48 is somewhat similar to the action of the jets 43 in that theyengage against the head portions of shrimp flung over the bafi'le plate44, further loosening said head portions and causing them to becomedetached from the main edible body portions of the shrimp.

The discharge chute 14 is provided adjacent the top edge of the inclinedwall portion 31 with an upstanding transversely extending guide plate 49which is inclined upwardly and to the right, as viewed in FIG. 4,terminating adjacent the periphery of drum l8 and extendingsubstantially tangentially thereto, with sufficient clearance to allowfree movement of the ribs 34 therepast. The gap between the top edge 50of plate 49 and drum 18 is insufficient to allow movement of the shrimpbody portions therethrough, so that the shrimp body portions arediverted leftwardly of edge 50 into the outlet chute 14. The deheadedshrimp are thus guided onto the conveyor 15 subjacent chute 14 to bemoved to locations for further processing.

Respective inclined baffle plates 51 and 52 are provided adjacent topwall 40, being inclined downwardly and to the left therefrom and beinglocated above the inclined bafile plates 37 and 44. The transverselyextending inclined bafile plates 51 and 52 serve as abutrnents againstwhich the shrimp are flung. Thus, the baffle plates 51 and 52 havebottom edges which terminate above the lower portions of the inclinedbalfle plates 37 and 44 and are spaced away from the path of the mainjets 43 and 48, namely, being spaced to the right therefrom, as viewedin FIG. 4, so as not to interfere with the action of said main jets.

in operation, the shrimp to be deheaded are supplied through the inletchute l3 and slide down the guide plate 35 into engagement with therotating drum 16.

The drums rotate at a rate of approximately 300 RPM. The shrimp areengaged by the ribs 34 of drum l6 and are flung against the baffle plate51, which diverts them into contact with the second drum 1?. The ribs 34of drum 17, in turn, engage the shrimp and l'ling them against thesecond inclined upper bafile plate 52, which diverts them into contactwith the third drum 18, whose ribs 34 fling them into the dischargechute 14.

The shrimp are partially deheaded after contact with the ribs 34 offirst drum l6, and just prior to contact with the ribs of second drum 17they pass under the transverse row of jets 43, which substantiallycompletes the deheading action. After contact with the ribs 34 of seconddrum 1'! and passage through the second transverse row of water jets 48and contact with the ribs 34 of third drum 18, the shrimp fall out ofthe discharge chute 14 onto the belt conveyor 15 completely deheaded andwashed.

The heads and other debris are subsequently removed from the conveyor 15by a separate procedure not covered herein.

The drain conduit 32 serves to drain off the water from the spray jets43, 48.

It will be readily apparent that the apparatus above described may beemployed in any desired orientation. Thus, the machine may be employedeither in a vertical position, a horizontal position or a diagonalposition.

While a specific embodiment of an improved shrimp deheading apparatushas been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understoodthat various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occurto those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that nolimitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A shrimp deheading apparatus comprising a main chute member forreceiving shrimp and having an inlet passage at one end and an outlet peat its other end, rotary drum means journaled horizontally in said chutemember, drive means coupled to said drum means, spaced projections onthe periphery of said drum means, inclined guide plate means betweensaid inlet and said drum means and extending adjacent said periphery ofthe drum means, baflle plate means mounted over and spaced above saidguide plate means and being inclined downwardly toward said drum means,and liquid jet means mounted in said chute member above and directedsubstantially toward said drum means for applying ajet force to separatethe head from the body of the shrimp.

2. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 1, and wherein said mainchute member is inclined downwardly from said inlet passage toward saidoutlet passage.

3. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 2, and wherein said liquidjet means comprises a conduit mounted transversely in the chute memberand having spaced bottom jet orifices.

4. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 3, and wherein said guideplate means is inclined downwardly toward said drum means and has anedge located closely adjacent the path of movement of said spacedprojections.

5. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 4, and wherein said drummeans comprises a plurality of successive horizontally joumaled rotarydrums, each having spaced projections on its periphery, and meansdrivingly coupling the drums together for simultaneous rotation in thesame direction, wherein said guide plate means includes respectiveinclined guide plates mounted transversely in the main chute memberbetween the upper portions of adjacent rotary drums and havingtransverse edges located relatively closely adjacent to the paths ofmovement of the projections, defining respective relatively narrow gapsrelative to the drums, and wherein a transverse bottom-apertured jetconduit is provided above each gap.

6. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 5, and drain conduit meansconnected to the bottom wall of the main chute member.

7. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 6, and wherein said bottomwall has downwardly convergent portions adjacent said outlet passage,said drain conduit means being connected substantially to the junctionof said downwardly convergent portions.

8. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 7, and outlet guide platemeans mounted in said outlet passage and extending downwardly andsubstantially tangen- 10. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 9, andinlet guide plate means mounted in said inlet passage and being inclineddownwardly toward and terminating closely adjacent to the periphery ofthe uppermost rotary drum.

I i i i

1. A shrimp deheading apparatus comprising a main chute member forreceiving shrimp and having an inlet passage at one end and an outletpassage at its other end, rotary drum means journaled horizontally insaid chute member, drive means coupled to said drum means, spacedprojections on the periphery of said drum means, inclined guide platemeans between said inlet passage and said drum means and extendingadjacent said periphery of the drum means, baffle plate means mountedover and spaced above said guide plate means and being inclineddownwardly toward said drum means, and liquid jet means mounted in saidchute member above and directed substantially toward said drum means forapplying a jet force to separate the head from the body of the shrimp.2. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 1, and wherein said mainchute member is inclined downwardly from said inlet passage toward saidoutlet passage.
 3. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 2, andwherein said liquid jet means comprises a conduit mounted transverselyin the chute member and having spaced bottom jet orifices.
 4. The shrimpdeheading apparatus of claim 3, and wherein said guide plate means isinclined downwardly toward said drum means and has an edge locatedclosely adjacent the path of movement of said spaced projections.
 5. Theshrimp deheading apparatus of claim 4, and wherein said drum meanscomprises a plurality of successive horizontally journaled rotary drums,each having spaced projections on its periphery, and means drivinglycoupling the drums together for simultaneous rotation in the samedirection, wherein said guide plate means includes respective inclinedguide plates mounted transversely in the main chute member between theupper portions of adjacent rotary drums and having transverse edgeslocated relatively closely adjacent to the paths of movement of theprojections, defining respective relatively narrow gaps relative to thedrums, and wherein a transverse bottom-apertured jet conduit is providedabove each gap.
 6. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 5, and drainconduit means connected to the bottom wall of the main chute member. 7.The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 6, and wherein said bottom wallhas downwardly convergent portions adjacent said outlet passage, saiddrain conduit means being connected substantially to the junction ofsaid downwardly convergent portions.
 8. The shrimp deheading apparatusof claim 7, and outlet guide plate means mounted in said outlet passageand extending downwardly and substantially tangentially from theperipheral portion of the lowermost rotary drum.
 9. The shrimp deheadingapparatus of claim 8, and wherein said baffle plate means comprisesrespective baffle plates mounted in the top portion of said main chutemember between the respective liquid jet conduits and the upwardlyadjacent rotary drums.
 10. The shrimp deheading apparatus of claim 9,and inlet guide plate means mounted in said inlet passage and beinginclined downwardly toward and terminating closely adjacent to theperiphery of the uppermost rotary drum.